What Is a Medical Malpractice Case in Charleston, SC?

Roden Law represents patients harmed by medical negligence in Charleston, South Carolina and throughout the Lowcountry — Mount Pleasant, Summerville, Goose Creek, and the peninsula. We handle every medical malpractice claim on a contingency fee basis: you pay nothing unless we win. Roden Law has recovered more than $300 million for injured clients across Georgia […]

— Reviewed by Graeham C. Gillin, Partner, COO at Roden Law

Key Takeaways

If you were injured in a medical malpractice in Charleston, South Carolina, you generally have 3 years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit (S.C. Code § 15-3-530). South Carolina follows a modified comparative negligence rule — you can still recover as long as you are Modified — recover if less than 51% at fault, with your award reduced by your percentage of fault. There is no cap on compensatory damages in an ordinary South Carolina injury case. Roden Law represents Charleston injury victims on a contingency fee: the consultation is free and there is no fee unless we win.

Roden Law represents patients harmed by medical negligence in Charleston, South Carolina and throughout the Lowcountry — Mount Pleasant, Summerville, Goose Creek, and the peninsula. We handle every medical malpractice claim on a contingency fee basis: you pay nothing unless we win. Roden Law has recovered more than $300 million for injured clients across Georgia and South Carolina and holds a 4.9-star average from hundreds of client reviews. Call (843) 790-8999 for a free, confidential case review.

Why Choose Roden Law for a Charleston Medical Malpractice Claim

Medical malpractice is the most technical and heavily defended type of injury case in South Carolina — hospitals and their insurers retain specialized defense counsel and expert physicians from day one. What separates Roden Law is direct attorney involvement paired with the medical experts needed to prove a departure from the standard of care. Our office at 127 King Street sits on the Charleston peninsula, minutes from the Charleston County Circuit Court and the region’s major medical centers, so investigation, records review, and filings happen without the delay of running a Lowcountry case from a distant office.

  • No fee unless we win — free consultation and no out-of-pocket cost to investigate your claim.
  • Medical experts on every case — South Carolina requires an expert affidavit before suit, and we build that proof from the outset.
  • Trial-ready — we prepare every claim for the Charleston County Circuit Court, which is what moves hospital insurers to pay full value.

Charleston Medical Malpractice Cases We Handle

Charleston is a regional medical hub, and the cases our attorneys see most often arise at its largest institutions and surgical centers:

  • Surgical errors and anesthesia mistakes at MUSC Health, Roper Hospital, and Trident and East Cooper medical centers.
  • Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis — cancer, stroke, heart attack, and infection missed or read too late.
  • Birth injuries — oxygen deprivation, improper delivery, and maternal-care failures.
  • Medication and pharmacy errors — wrong drug, wrong dose, or dangerous interactions.
  • ER and hospital negligence — failure to monitor, retained surgical objects, and hospital-acquired infections.

South Carolina Medical Malpractice Law: What Charleston Patients Need to Know

You Must File a Notice of Intent and Expert Affidavit First

Before you can sue for medical malpractice in South Carolina, you must file a Notice of Intent to File Suit accompanied by an expert affidavit under S.C. Code § 15-79-125, and the parties must complete a pre-suit mediation period before litigation begins. This expert requirement is why choosing an experienced malpractice firm early matters — the medical proof has to be in place before the case can even start.

The Deadline: 3 Years, Capped by a 6-Year Repose

The statute of limitations is generally three years from the date you discovered (or should have discovered) the injury, but no later than six years from the negligent act under S.C. Code § 15-3-545. A retained foreign object has its own two-year-from-discovery rule. These overlapping deadlines make prompt review essential.

South Carolina Caps Non-Economic Damages in Med-Mal

Unlike ordinary injury cases, South Carolina caps non-economic damages (pain and suffering) in medical malpractice under S.C. Code § 15-32-220 — roughly $596,001 per provider or institution and about $1,788,003 in aggregate as of 2026, adjusted annually for inflation. Economic damages — medical bills, lost earnings, and future care — are not capped, and the cap can be lifted entirely where the conduct was grossly negligent, reckless, or willful.

Learn More About South Carolina Injury Law

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What to Do After Suspected Medical Malpractice in Charleston, SC

  1. Request your complete medical records in writing. From every provider and facility involved, not just the one you suspect. Ask for the full file including imaging, nursing notes, and orders. In a malpractice case the records largely are the case.
  2. Keep getting treatment — ideally from someone new. Your health comes first, and a second opinion may catch something correctable. A gap in treatment is also one of the first things a defense expert points to when arguing an injury was not serious.
  3. Write down what happened while you still remember it. Dates, who you saw, what you were told before and after, and who else was in the room. The written record is authored entirely by the other side; your account is not.
  4. Do not accept waived bills or a free corrective procedure in exchange for signing. It is a common and entirely lawful offer. It is also sometimes paired with paperwork that ends your claim. Read what is attached, and have it reviewed before you sign it.
  5. Be careful with risk management and insurance adjusters. Those calls are documented and they are not made for your benefit. You are not required to give a recorded statement before speaking with an attorney.
  6. Do not assume a bad outcome is — or is not — malpractice. Medicine carries known risks, and a poor result on its own proves nothing. The question is whether the care fell below the accepted standard, and only a qualified expert in the same field can answer it.
  7. Contact an attorney early — the pre-suit requirements are slow. Georgia requires an expert affidavit filed with the complaint (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1), and South Carolina requires a Notice of Intent to File Suit with an expert affidavit followed by mandatory mediation (S.C. Code § 15-79-125). Locating the right expert and obtaining that opinion routinely takes months, and Georgia's deadline is two years. Roden Law offers free consultations.

South Carolina Medical Malpractice Law

Statute of Limitations 3 years (S.C. Code § 15-3-530)
Comparative Fault Modified — recover if less than 51% at fault

Filing a Personal Injury Case in Charleston

Filing a personal injury case in downtown Charleston means filing in the Charleston County Court of Common Pleas at 100 Broad Street, on the Tyler Odyssey-based South Carolina E-Filing system. Most cases are sent to mandatory mediation under SC ADR rules before reaching the jury trial roster, and a typical contested case takes 18–30 months from complaint to verdict.

Charleston’s peninsula geography concentrates risk on a few well-known corridors: the Crosstown (US-17 / Septima P. Clark Parkway), the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge to Mount Pleasant, and the dense tourist grid around King and Market Streets, where rideshare drop-offs and carriage tours mix with out-of-state drivers. Charleston County logged more than 2,500 truck-related crashes in 2023, and the I-26/I-526 interchange just west of the peninsula recorded 354 collisions over a five-year period. Serious-injury patients from peninsula crashes are routed to MUSC Health (171 Ashley Ave) — the Lowcountry’s only Level I trauma center.

Under South Carolina law, you have 3 years to file under S.C. Code § 15-3-530, and you can recover only if you are less than 51% at fault. Shorter notice deadlines apply if SCDOT or the City of Charleston is a defendant under the SC Tort Claims Act.

Do I Have a Medical Malpractice Case in Charleston?

Medical malpractice replaces “ordinary care” with the standard of care of a reasonably prudent practitioner in the same specialty. South Carolina requires a Notice of Intent to File Suit and an expert affidavit under S.C. Code § 15-79-125, plus a mandatory pre-suit mediation period before suit can proceed. The statute of limitations is 3 years from discovery with a 6-year repose (S.C. Code § 15-3-545). In Charleston, claims commonly arise out of Charleston County Circuit Court’s jurisdictional area.

Types of Compensation in South Carolina Medical Malpractice Cases

South Carolina caps noneconomic damages at $350,000 per defendant / $1.05 million aggregate under S.C. Code § 15-32-220, adjusted annually for inflation. Economic damages — past and future medicals, lost wages, lost earning capacity, attendant care — are uncapped in both states. Punitive damages are available for gross negligence with separate statutory caps.

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Roden Law Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Charleston, SC Results at a Glance

$300M+ Recovered for injured clients across Georgia and South Carolina
4.9 / 5.0 Average client rating across hundreds of verified Google reviews from our six offices
5,000+ Cases successfully handled since 2013
62 years Combined attorney experience across 5 office locations

Source: Roden Law firm records and verified Google Business Profile reviews, updated August 2026.

Recent Case Results

Settlement $27,000,000 $27,000,000 Settlement | Truck Accident
Verdict $10,860,000 $10,860,000 Verdict | Product Liability
Recovery $9,800,000 $9,800,000 Recovery | Premises Liability

Results shown are gross settlement/verdict amounts before fees and costs. Past results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

About the Author

Graeham C. Gillin, Partner, COO at Roden Law

Graeham C. Gillin

Partner, COO

Frequently Asked Questions

Contact Our Charleston Office Today

If you were injured in Charleston and believe another party is at fault, contact us for a free, no-obligation review. Call (843) 790-8999 — no upfront cost.